WarGames (1983)
WMB Rating:
(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) 
Loading ...Quite possibly the first "hacker" movie of our times, WarGames shows us what can happen when we put our trust in these new-fangled computing machinery thingies, and then give them the power to destroy the planet.
OK, so maybe thats overstating things a bit. WarGames is still a fun romp through the world of computer-hackery and cold war missile command tension.
The general premise is this: SAC has turned over launch control of our nations thousands of nuclear ICBMs to a mainframe computer named WOPR (War Operations Plan Response if memory serves) and out of the thinking hands of the launch crews. WOPR can instantly calculate the outcome of just about any scenario given to it.
Of course its stumbled upon quite accidentally by the young David Lightman, who was war dialing to find some software company's new games. He and his "little friend" Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) figure out the backdoor password, and begin their relationship with the system known as "Joshua."
They start playing what they think is an innocent game of Global Thermonuclear War, when in actuality they are putting the WOPR into an operational state, sending NORAD into a panic.
Hilarity ensues. This leads to that etc. and so forth, and "Joshua" keeps playing the game without them, and locking out all control of the missiles. They track down the author of the system, one Dr. Stephen Falken, and they all wind up back at NORAD to help Joshua figure out that its all quite pointless.
OK, sure as a war movie its a bit of a stretch, I'll admit. There's lots of ICBM talk, lovely strategic computer displays and lots of angry older guys in blue suits with stars on their epaulets. But its still fun. And from the "hacker" standpoint it still holds a lot of truths about computer security and stuff like social engineering and whatnot.... Good for a big bowl of popcorn any time in my book.
Technorati Tags: war movies, wargames, computers, nuclear war, icbm, dvd, review
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Description
Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and Ally Sheedy (The Breakfast Club) star in this compelling drama filled with action, suspense and high-tech adventures! Featuring superb performances by Dabney Coleman and Barry Corbin, WarGames is "brilliant...funny...and provocative" (New York)a fast-paced cyber-thriller. Computer hacker David Lightman (Broderick) can bypass the most advanced security systems, break the most intricate secret codes and mastereven the most difficult computer games. But when he unwittingly taps into the Defense Department's war computer, he initiates a confrontation of global proportionsWorld War III! Together with his girlfriend (Sheedy) and a wizardly computer genius (Tony AwardÂ(r) winner John Wood), David must race against time to outwit his opponent...and prevent a nuclear Armageddon.
Cute but silly, this 1983 cautionary fantasy stars Matthew Broderick as a teenage computer genius who hacks into the Pentagon's defense system and sets World War III into motion. All the fun is in the film's set-up, as Broderick befriends Ally Sheedy and starts the international crisis by pretending while online to be the Soviet Union. After that, it's not hard to predict what's going to happen: government agents swoop in, but the story ends up in the "hands" of machines talking to one another. Thus we're stuck with flashing lights, etc. John Badham (Saturday Night Fever) directs in strict potboiler mode. Kids still like this movie, though. --Tom Keogh
DVD Information
Binding: DVDAspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Brand: BRODERICK,MATTHEW
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Original Release Date:
Actors:
- Matthew Broderick
- Ally Sheedy
- John Wood
- Dabney Coleman
- Barry Corbin
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